Dedicated role for Gunnedah PCYC during emergencies

The Gunnedah PCYC will be upgraded to serve as a dedicated disaster and emergency evacuation centre.

The venue will benefit from a $1.54 million refurbishment to support accessibility and compliance infrastructure enhancements.

Proposed capital works will address accessibility, compliance and functionality gaps (accessible entry/exit, kitchen/bathrooms refurbishments with a designated ambulant bathroom) and enable the venue to be activated as an Emergency Evacuation Centre.

Gunnedah PCYC was identified as the preferred venue by the Gunnedah Local Emergency Management Committee.

The project is being co-funded under the Australian government’s Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) – an initiative for disaster resilience and risk reduction.

The government said the funding is part of a long-term commitment to enhance Australia’s capacity to respond, adapt and recover by investing up to $1 billion over the next five years in resilience initiatives across the country.

Gunnedah PCYC served as an evacuation centre as recently as December during the Duck Creek Pilliga Forest bushfire which reached emergency warning level and burnt through more than 130,000 hectares.